


If You Go Down To The Woods Today

by robinstraker



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Other, So yeah, but i think it's going somewhere, dreams etc, i'd place it sort of mid-season 1ish, not really sure where this is going, rated the violence thingy cos i'll probably have canon-style murders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-16
Updated: 2014-02-19
Packaged: 2018-01-12 17:46:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1194027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robinstraker/pseuds/robinstraker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will finds himself quite far from home and calls Hannibal to collect him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Will walked through the woodland, leaves crunching beneath his muddied, scuffed and generally worn walking shoes. Around him, spanning like an ever present orb of protection scuffled his dogs, moving where he did, but mostly keeping their distance, sniffing at tree trunks or scampering after rodents. 

Numb hands, white with cold, and long since sensitive, blood giving up making the effort, as Will did on paying attention to his surroundings, were shoved in his pockets in an attempt to ease the prickling discomfort. 

Hat pulled down over his ears, Will’s hair was completely hidden, aside from a few stray wisps, balanced on the frames of his glasses, lenses specked with rain, mud and dust. 

 

When he came to a lake, Will stopped walking and blinked, bringing to the forefront of his mind his awareness of the world around him once again. Frowning, he fished out his mobile, quite unaware of where he was. A short, high pitched whistle brought his dogs, scampering and panting, to his side, all squirming together, trying to rub against his legs. He reached down absently with his free hand and rubbed the fur of a few of them, walking slowly to a tree stump and sitting on it before looking down, over the top of his frames, to frown at the screen on his phone. He brought up a GPS map and sighed, watching his breath float in front of him a while as he waited for his phone to load. 

A map flickered onto his screen, a dozen pixels at a time, to show Will a part of Virginia that he didn’t recognise. Rubbing his fingertips together so they’d be warm enough for his mobile to pick up the delicate movements, he zoomed out the map until a flashing red dot showed his his house, some forty kilometres away. 

He sighed and rested his phone on his lap a moment, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. The dogs had started wandering again, some foraging near the water’s edge. Absently, he noted that this would be a good place to fish. After a while, he picked up his mobile again and scrolled through his limited contacts before dialling one.

 

 ***

 

When Hannibal finally found Will, after parking up on the nearby roadside and trudging through the woodland towards the strong smell of dogs, Will was dozing against a tree stump, curled in on himself, a blanket of dogs around him. One of the bigger ones barked viscously when they saw Hannibal, causing Will to wake with a start and stare about.

 

“William, it’s alright. It’s just me, Dr Lecter. You called me to come and collect you, remember?” He stated calmly, approaching the bundle of human and dog slowly, wishing the disgusting animals would stop tarnishing that exquisite scent of Will’s. He watched in masked glee as Will frowned as his head lifted and slowly turned in stuttered movements until his eyes found Hannibal, gaze hanging around the psychiatrist’s midriff to avoid those ever staring eyes.

Hannibal watched Will absently nod, before shakily standing, shoving his hands in his pockets and making his way to Hannibal. Concerned, Hannibal put an arm around him, firmly holding him steady as he guided him to his car, dogs trailing behind. He gestured for the dogs to get in the trailer and, whimpering, they did as they were told. Will trusted him, so they would trust him too.

Sitting Will in the front seat, Hannibal retrieved a thick, soft blanket from the back and wrapped Will in it, who nodded silently in thanks and hunkered down in it, closing his eyes. Sighing, Hannibal got in, started the ignition and started driving away. 

He waited until Will was asleep to turn off the road leading towards Wolf Trap, and heading to his own place in Baltimore.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannibal brings Will inside while his patient dreams of the beast which is his saviour and tormentor.

Hannibal parked up on his drive slowly, gravel churning beneath his tyres. Silently, he got out and went round to the back, opening the door.

 

"Will?" He called, voice calm and soft. "William?"

Will didn't even twitch in his deep slumber. Sighing, Hannibal scooped him up, kicking at the dogs when they tried to follow him inside. Laying Will on a sofa for a moment, he retrieved some leftover sausage from his fridge and went outside, guiding the dogs to his fenced off yard behind his house. Throwing the rest of the seasoned meat out onto the lawn, he stepped back inside, content that the dogs were secured.

 

Will's face was contorted, blankets entangled tightly around his squirming legs. Tutting softly, like a mother, Hannibal slipped his hand beneath Will's floppy fringe and noted his temperature.

Sighing, he scooped him up again, the empath's weight no trouble for him, and carried him upstairs to a guest bedroom.

 

Much like he did to his kills, but with far more care, Hannibal stripped Will. Once he had done so he cleaned him, and dressed him in some comfortable pyjamas.

Hannibal perched on the side of the bed, mopping his patient's brow with a damp cloth and humming softly, hoping to ease Will in whatever dream-state he was in. 

 

Although it was fascinating to watch the man deteriorate, Hannibal had now decided he had gone too far. Reluctant to put Will in a place as unhygienic as the hospital for recovery, he put it upon himself to treat Will, let him think it was still psychological, but make him better secretly all the same.

That, plus a little persuasion, would make Will Graham putty in Dr Lecter's hands.

 

 

***

 

It approached him, that beast, from the depths of the wood, and called his name gruffly.

 

“Will…?” It groaned. “William…”

 

The stag scooped up Will, and immediately the landscape changed from the woodland to the morgues at work. It carried him through the great expanse of the lab, devoid of his colleagues, and headed towards the incinerator. Will struggled on the antlers, finding he was gored like Marissa Schurr had been. He cried out in shock, but noted he felt no pain. 

They travelled together, Stag trotting slowly, Will hanging from the great antlers, watching his blood spatter their path in small red bursts. It seemed to go on forever, their journey, but eventually they got to their destination.

 

Suddenly he watched as he was thrown in the fiery inferno of the incinerator. He blinked in his dream state, expecting unbearable heat, but instead feeling a relaxingly cool,covering his body, the chill calming him. 

He fell into a deeper sleep, no longer dreaming, the world dark and silent around him aside from the soft breathing of the stag beside him, which he knew now would not hurt him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is so short again. I will write more, but I'll be away for the next few days with questionable internet access, so it may be a while before I update again. As always please comment if you enjoyed this :)


	3. Chapter 3

Will woke the next morning to see Hannibal dozing in a chair beside the bed, damp cloth on his lap.   
"Doctor Lecter?" He croaked softly, frowning and rubbing his eyes, noting he wasn't as tired as he usually was when he woke.  
Hannibal opened his eyes, instantly wide awake, and smiled at him.  
"Hello Will, how did you sleep?" He asked softly.  
"Surprisingly well actually...why am I here?" His voice was full of confusion that sparked a warmth of excitement in Hannibal's stomach.  
"You phoned me last night, Will. You were lost, quite far from your home. You fell asleep in the car, and I was reluctant to leave you in such a state." He murmured calmly, sounding slightly patronising, treating Will like a sick child. That was the plan, of course, to make Will feel dependent.  
Will blinked slowly, eyes glazing as he disappeared into his mind. Hannibal wondered what it was like in there, in that bone arena. Quite a show, he suspected.

"Oh." Will said finally, absently.

"Hungry?" Hannibal asked brightly, hoping to draw Will out of his silence and eager to feed the man up with good food.

Will nodded. "Yeah...where's the bathroom?" He asked quietly. Hannibal directed him and Will nodded again, slowly getting out of bed with a quiet groan. Hannibal stood and put his hand on the small of Will's back, gently guiding him, a small reminder of his care for Will. Will took no notice and went in, pushing the door shut when he got there.   
Hannibal winced sadly at the scrape of the lock, sighing a little before deciding that progress would only be made slowly, and headed down to start on a feast of a breakfast.

Once he'd washed, Will noticed he was in pyjamas, and frowned at the realisation that Hannibal had stripped him. Wincing at the notion, he splashed his face and rubbed his stubble with a towel before heading downstairs, feeling self-conscious.

He sat awkwardly at the breakfast bar, watching Hannibal cook. After a few moments Hannibal turned, smiling as he artistically shared out the mix of bacon, sausage and tomato around the fried eggs and chunks of fresh sourdough bread.  
"Hello Will. You're lucky, I stocked up from the butcher's just yesterday. Fresh bacon and sausage, seasoned with my own herbs, eggs from the neighbouring farm and tomatoes from my greenhouse." He murmured. "The bread I baked yesterday." He added, bringing the plates over and sitting opposite him. Knowing Will would require caffeine, he poured him some fresh coffee from the machine beside them and handed him the glass.  
"Bon appetit."

***

Comfortable silence endured while they ate, until Will suddenly piped up.  
"You changed my clothes." He murmured, a statement but clearly wanting an explanation.  
"Yes." Hannibal replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I couldn't let you sleep in those dirty clothes of yours, denim trousers are simply torture to rest in. You also had a fever, I needed to mop you down."  
Will reddened in embarrassment.  
"Oh." He said quietly, staring at his plate. He didn't say any more for the rest of the meal.   
Once finished, Hannibal cleared their plates then, silently, went through to a connecting room and returned with a neatly folded stack of Will's freshly washed, dried and ironed clothes. He put them in Will's lap. "Feel free to stay in the bed clothes if you like, you may even go back to bed, but I notice you are quite shy. There is no need, Will, honestly. I was an emergency room surgeon, remember, and more importantly I am your doctor and your friend. I'd quite like to keep you here to observe, I fear your loss of time is getting rapidly worse. There are the necessary cleaning products in the bathroom." He said, showing no room for argument on the matter of Will staying. Surprisingly, Will just nodded, stood and went back to the bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters today since I haven't had access to internet

Hannibal was in his study when Will came back downstairs. "Uh...my dogs. They were with me last night. I remember that." Hannibal looked up and smiled.   
"Yes, that's correct. They're in the back garden, it is fenced off, quite safe. I will not permit them in the house, I'm afraid, but the summerhouse at the back is open for them to use, I barely use it myself."  
Will nodded and pulled on his jacket, heading out.

As soon as the dogs saw him they barked excitedly and bounded over. Will grinned and knelt with them, letting them jump on him, rubbing them each in turn. After a few minutes, Hannibal emerged in a woollen coat, carrying a plastic pot of diced meats. He opened it and threw it onto the lawn, smiling softly as Will blinked in confusion when the dogs hurriedly left him. When he saw Hannibal he managed a smile, watching the dogs eat.  
"Thanks." He murmured, standing and walking over, scratching the head of Winston, still quite a low rank in the pack due to his recent joining, and therefore hanging back for the rest to finish eating first.  
"It is no problem. Offcuts I had leftover from a dinner party I had last week. Next time I am at the butchers I will ask for some offal for them."   
Will smiled a little in thanks as he watched the dogs eat, blinking after a few moments, feeling a little dizzy.

Hannibal hid his excitement at the sight of Will being so pale and helpless.  
"You have overworked yourself. Why don't we go back inside?" He murmured, offering a hand for him. Will blinked a few more times, swaying a little before crumpling to the ground, lying in the grass and beginning to seize. The dogs started barking at Hannibal defensively.  
"Will? William?" He called clearly, checking Will was entirely unconscious before opening the gate, stepping onto the lawn and glaring at the dogs.   
"Away, filthy stupid mutts!" He spat, pointing to the far corner of the fenced off garden. The dogs saw something flash in his dark eyes and whimpered, bounding over to the far corner and huddling together, watching from a distance. Hannibal knelt beside his patient and held his head as he seized, opening his eyelids and looking at the whites. He sighed, rolling him into the recovery position and sticking his fingers in Will's mouth to stop him swallowing his own tongue. When the seizure finally subsided, Will remained unconscious, fever high. Hannibal sighed and gently lifted him, again having no trouble, used to lifting dead weights much greater in mass than Will.  
Hannibal brought Will back to the guest bedroom before stripping him again, dressing him in the thin pyjamas and tucking him. He stepped out the room and returned minutes later with a syringe. He flicked it before injecting the cloudy liquid into Will's forearm.  
"There we are, my sweet. Rest now." He soothed, a hand in Will's hair.  
Observing Will as he slept, that innocent face of his that had seen so much, Hannibal let his mind wander, imagining him perhaps a few years into the future, a murder partner, flirting with Hannibal and preparing gifts of ingeniously displayed corpses for him. He shuddered in excitement at the thoughts.  
"Baby steps, Lecter, baby steps." He murmured to himself, running his fingers through Will's hair, letting the pad of his thumb rub against Will's clean shaven cheek. Pausing a moment, Hannibal leant in close, breathing in the scent of the man with the new products he had picked out especially to suit the hot, fruity scent of his encephalitis. All the items in the guest bathroom had been, of course, picked out in preparation for this, Will having been on the forefront of Hannibal's mind since their first encounter. The pyjamas Hannibal had also picked out with the empath in mind, figuring out the man's size and making alterations personally, so that it would be easier to dress the man when he was incapacitated.

***

He watched Will for hours before he finally got what he wanted. Will started twitching, whimpering and rolling about, starting to sweat. "Will, William it's alright, you're just dreaming my dear, it's not real, you are safe with me." He cooed, stroking his face gently. Will whimpered again and curled into his side, gripping Hannibal's shirt. Hannibal smiled at that. "Ssh, that's right. I'm here, everything is fine." He murmured, reaching down and kissing his forehead.  
Will was calm until he woke, slowly, feeling well rested. He immediately pulled away from Hannibal, embarrassed. Hannibal sighed inwardly.  
"You had a seizure, Will." He said in explanation. "I am even more adamant now that you must stay here with me, where I can look after you."  
Will sighed and nodded, slumping back into the bed, fed up of getting worse and worse with no real reason why.  
"Do you still think it's psychological?" He asked after a while, avoiding eye contact.  
"Yes, I do. Your scan came back clear, remember?" He reminded softly. "You overwork yourself, Will. Don't worry, I will phone Jack and let him know what's going on. You rest." He patted his hand supportively then left.   
Only once the door had shut did Will realise the small touch had made him smile slightly.

His mind slowly remembered the nightmare he had had.   
_He was in the forest again, but this time, instead of being dark, the place was alive with the brightness and heat of a forest fire. He turned about, staring wide eyed at the burning towers that were once trees, dodging fiery, smoking missiles of pinecones and branches. He felt the smoke creep into his lungs and he coughed, feeling as though he were choking._  
 _Suddenly, the place went silent and he opened his eyes to see the stag walking calmly through the fire towards him. The fire seemed to shy away when the beast got close, giving it a safe path to Will. It gently scooped him up again in it's huge antlers and slowly walked to a clearing, far away from the blaze so that it was just a soft heat on Will's cheek. The stag lay Will on a bed of moss and wrapped him in reeds, tucking him into the bed of flora and laying beside him, keeping him safe._  
 _Once scared of the creature, Will was surprised to feel himself curl into the soft, furry belly of the creature, clutching at the tufts as he fell asleep, feeling safe and protected._

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment if you'd like me to continue, and add any ideas or requests as this really is an open-ended thing that just popped up in my head  
> thank you for the kudos too :)


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